Tamil Canadians Support the Establishment of Tamil Chair in Harvard University
On Sunday July 17th, 2016 the Canadian Tamil Congress hosted the Yagnaseni Musical Dance in support of establishing a Tamil Chair at the Harvard University (USA). The dance drama revolved around the story of Drupathi from the famous epic Mahabaratham, and promised enjoyment with its prominent cast: The production was led by Nirothini Pararajasingam’s Niro Dance Creations, with the choreography and direction conducted by the world renowned Madurai R Muralidharan, and featured the prominent Uma Murali and 50 other local artists.
The event opened up with a beautiful dance to introduce the Harvard Tamil Chair, which was choreographed by Niro Dance Creations. It was followed by a recognition of the sponsors: Nava Law, Computek College, Siva & Joy Real Estate Team, Gani Pictures, Raj Nadarajah and Raveendran Kanadasamy.
Dr. Sambandam, who is one of the two doctors instrumental in initiating the Harvard Tamil Chair, graced the occasion with his presence along with a number of community leaders, artists and well-wishers. The proceeds from the event together with the donation received at the breakfast event held in June are donated to the Harvard Tamil Chair Initiative. The ceremonial cheque of $25,000 was presented to Dr. Sambandan by Nirothini Pararajasingam, Sivan Ilangko and Appadurai Muthulingam. All the participants were presented with certificates from Tamil Chair Inc and Gary Anadasangaree Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Rouge Park.
The Tamil language is spoken by more than 70 million people worldwide and is one of the major classical languages of the world with one of the most well received literature collections. With an endowed chair at Harvard, our language and literature, which is such an important part of our identity, will be taught at the highest levels in the most prestigious of contexts. This will have a significant impact on the status of academic exploration in Tamil for generations to come.
Dr. Vijay Janakiraman and Dr. S. Thirugnanasambandam of the USA initiated the establishment of Harvard Tamil chair. Seeing this project come to fruition requires a commitment from the Global Tamil community in the amount of $6 million (US). Dr. Vijay Janakiraman and Dr. Thirugnanasambandam have generously contributed $500,000 each to this unique project.
For more information about this project and to find out how you can contribute to the permanent establishment of a Tamil Chair at Harvard University, please visit harvardtamilchair.com or contact the Canadian Tamil Congress.